Launching mechanism for aircraft.



G. L. CABOT.

LAUNCHING MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT,

APPLICATION men AUG-l3. [9|].

1 @7231 1 Patented July 9, 1918.

3 SHEETSS'HEET I.

WITNESS H INVENTOR J WW .Z.Ca Foil 5' A TTORNEYS e. L. CABOT. LAUNCHINGMECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-I3. I917.

1 372,21 1 Patented July 9, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

m ATTORNEYS G. L. CABOT.

LAUNCHING MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJS, 1911.

1,272,211. Patented July 9,1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- If 'I'IIYESS 3 LY! ENTOR J {i 6.1,. Ca hi1,

for use on henrnnr LowELL CABOT, or nosrou, MASSACHUSETTS.

ILAUNCHIN G MECHANISM FOR AIRCRAFT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 9, 1918.

Application filed August 13, 1917. Serial No. 186,012.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Goormir L. Cnno'l, a citizen of the United States,residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Launching Mechanismfor Aircraft; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for launching aircraftsuch as aeroplanes and hydroaeroplanes, the principal object being toprovide magnetic means for holding the aircraft upon the lunchingapparatus until the required speed has been attained, and for thenreleasing it.

A further object is to provide electric means for operating thelaunching apparatus and means for simultaneously cutting off the currentfrom said operating means and the electro 'magnetic holding means whenthe ship is traveling at a safe speed for flight.

Yet another object is to provide a track for the catapult carriage uponwhich said carriage and aircraft move forward under the power of thelatter or of both for a predetermined distance, the electric propellingmeans of the carriage and the electric magnet being then automaticallythrown into action so that the craft is gradually driven faster until asafe flying speed is attained.

A still further object is to provide an apparatus well adapted forlaunching torpedo carrying aeroplanes and hydroaeroplanes, and to thisend, an additional object is to cause the torpedo or torpedoes to act asthe sole connecting means between the airplane and the car on which itis launched into the air.

Another object is to provide a launching apparatus which is adaptableequally well the deck of a vessel or on land.

Still another object is to provide a novel and eflicient method forlaunching numerous types of airplanes, even though the features ofconstruction hereinafter described, be radically changed.

With the foregoing general objects in view, the invention. resides inthe novel construction and combination and in the launching method herenafter fully described and claimed, the descriptive matter cation and inwhich:-

being supplemented by the accompanying drawings which form a part ofthis specififor launching;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the launching track;

Fig. 4 is a for releasing and Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on theplane of the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Heretofore the use of airplanes for carrying torpedoes has beenrestricted to comparatively small torpedoes, and for the reason thatseaplanes have alone been used for this purpose, and the weight of thepontoons, without which the seaplane could not ascend from the'water,has added a very considerable weight, and also reatly increased thehead-on resistance of the air to the passage of the flying machinethrough it.

Under the proposed plan, all four (4:) pontoons with their attachmentsare 'dispensed with, and their weight is added to the weight of thetorpedo, which can be carried by the airplane.

Furthermore, inasmuch as the torpedo causes very little head-onresistance, a saving in the powerrequired to propel the airplane atflying speed is also made, and the power thus saved becomes availablefor the suspension of additional weight.

There also are minor savings in that the wings can be built lighter incertain portions Where in the usual type they have to be strengthened tosupport the attachment of the various pontoons. The net result is thatnearly ten times as much weight can be carried on an airplane by themethod of construction herewith described, and in excess of the water,asolene, etc., needful for practical military operations, as by methodsheretofore in use.

Briefly speaking, the improved mechanism comprises a car G,electro-magnetic means E for holding an airship thereon, electric planview of the mechanism the torpedo from the airship;

driving means D for the car, and means M for simultaneously cutting offthe current of the electro-magnetic means E and the driving means D,when the car and airplane carried thereby have attained a requiredspeed.

The car C includes a suitable carriage 1 having flanged wheels 2traveling on a pair of rails 3 which are laid in theform of a commontype of track. The electric driving means D is in the form of anelectric motor operatively connected to the. wheels of. the

I carriage 1, by suitable gearing 4, the current being supplied to saidmotor from the rails 3 and a third rail 5 which is illustrated 1n Figs.2 and 3. A current conducting wire (3 leads from a suitable brush or thelike,

y from. said means, and a shoe 11 electricall connected with said secondwire and trave ing on the third rail 5. It is to be'understood that themeans shown for supplying the current to the electro-magnetic means Eand the driving means D are for illustrative purposes only, and that anypreferred arrangement could well be em loyed. Furthermore, although athirdrail will in most cases be employed, any other suitable arrangementsuch asa trolley wire might well be employed in some inflances.

The means M for simultaneously cutting off the current of theelectro-magnetic means E and driving means 1), is referably in the formof a' common t pe of r eostat. By this means, the speed 0 the drivingmechanismmaybe gradually increased as the carriage travels forward andthen, at the pro er time, the circuit may be broken so that 1%e drivingmeans and the airship holding means 'will be released and permit thecraft to leave the catapult.

It is to be observed that the rear end of the third rail 5, terminatesshort of the rear ends of the rails-3, it being intended that thecarriage 1 shall travel forward a predetermined amount upon said rails3, before the shoes 8 and 11 come into engagement with the third rail.By this arrangement, the carriage and the aircraft carried thereby maymove forward under the power of the latter until the shoes and thirdrail come into con tact. When this takes place, however, the

electric driving means D is automatically set in operation so thattheship ma be caused to travel at a. safe flying speed, efore it ispermitted to leave the carriage. 1 en such a and he -will immediatelyoperate t e rheostat M tobreak the circuit of the propelling means andthe electro-magnetic holding means E, the ship beingnthen free to risefrom the carriage. The arrangement employed for permitting the airshi tomove. orward under its own power, efore the driving means'of thecarriage comes into play, is highly advantageous, since by thisarrangement the aviator will not start upon a flight, until hispropeller is rotating at an operative speed.

It will be appreciated that the mechanism so far described may beemployed to equal advantage for launchin airplanes, whether the latterbe of'the usual type, or constructed 3 to carry self-propelled torpedoesto b6 dropped into the water in an attack on an enemy craft it beingunderstood, that slight changes in the form of the several elements willnecessarily be made according to the type of ship to be launched by themechanism. In all cases, the electro-magntit E will 7 preferably besurrounded by a using 12 and saidhousing and ma et will be located in a,longitudinal channe 13 formed in the top of the carriage 1; and when theapparatusis to be used for launching torpedo;

carrying aircraft, the top of the magnet E and the upper edge of thecasing 12,-will be provided, respectively with'seats 14 and 15. withinwhich the torpedo T rests and serves as the sole connection. between theairplane 'S and the catapult C, the torpedo being retained in place bythe action of the electromagnetic. means provided. Tnmost cases, theunderside of the torpedo T will be provided with an auxiliary keel 16which is receivable. in keyways 17 formed in the top of the magnet andin the-front wall of the casing 12. This construction prevents anyundesirable movement of the torpedo rela:

tive to the car, yet at the same'time permits it to rise and travelforward from'the car at the proper time.

ln-operation, the carriage 1 is placed at the rear end. of the'tracks 3with the, airplane resting thereon, the shoes 8 and 11 eing out ofcontact with the third rail 5. The switch M is now actuated to turn onthe current and the propeller P of ,the airship S is set in motion. Whenthis" ropelleris traveling at a requisite speed, t1 e carriage and shiparereleased sothat the action of a said ropeller moves the two untiltheshoes f8 an 11 come into contact with the third rail 5. When thistakes place, the driving means, i) of the carriage '1 is automati-'current.'- When the circult is now broken bv the means M, the magneticattraction at E ceases ;so-;that-tl 1e airship is free to rise fromthecarriage 1; at the same time the driving means D is. thrown out ofaction,

but the carriage will glide, due to its 1110- mentum, and thus the shipmay leave said carriage without any fluctuation in its speed. Obviously,the carriage 1 may be brought to a standstill in any preferred mannerand although such an arrangement is not illustrated I prefer to equipthe carriage in question with automatically operated brakes which come.into action in ample time to bring it to a standstill before the end ofthe trackway is reached.

In the foregoing, 1 have stated that the third rail 5 terminates shortof the rear end of the track rails 25, and that the current pickup shoes8 and 11 do not touch said rail until the airplane and the carriage uponwhich it is mounted are initially set in motion by the propeller of theformer. I wish it understood, however, that I do not wish to berestricted to this exact arrangement, since the three rails could wellbe of the same length, permitting the circuit of the mechanisms D andE'to remain broken un til it is required that the carriage be drivenunder its own power. The circuit could then be completed so that thesame result would be obtained. Furthermore, I consider it fully withinthe scope of the pres ent invention to provide independent circuits forthe means D and E, so that the holding means E may become operativebefore the driving means D is set in motion, thus rigidly holding theairship upon the 'carriage while its propeller is initially starting thecraft.

It willyof course, be understood that any preferred means may beemployed for releasing the torpedo T from the ship 8, at the propertime, a pair of turn buttons 18 being shown in Figs. 4 and 5 for holdingthe torpedo in place upon the ship until it is required to drop thesame. When this moment occurs, the two buttons 18 may be turned to areleased position by pushing forward upon a foot pedal or the like 19which is operatively connected with the turn buttons by wires or othersuitable connections 20. Furthermore, although the improved launchingmechanism may be constructed for launching all types of flying ships,the type preferably employed in connection therewith, will be of suchconstruction as to permit it to remain floating on the surface of thewater until the mother ship arrives to again take, it on board, that is,if the device be used upon a battleship or the like, it being for thisuse that the invention is primarily intended, although it may; beemployed to equal advantage on lan be obvious thatmy invention may bewell employed under greatly varying conditions, and will be highlyeflicient. On account of From the foregoing, taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings, it will.

the several advantages flowing from the specific detailsof constructionshown and described, such details are by preference employed, but I wishit understood that within the scope of the invention as claimednumerousminor changes may well be made.

I claim 1. A launching mechanism for aircraft comprising a car, and anelectro-magnet on said car for holding the craft thereon until therequired speed has been attained, said craft having an armatureattractedby said magnet. 3 2. A launching mechanism for aircraft comprising a carhaving electric operating means, electro-magnetic means for-holding thecraft upon said car-until the required speed has been attained, andmeans for then cutting off said operating means and saidelectro-magnetic means.

3. A launching mechanism for torpedo sof carrying aircraft comprising acar and an electro-magnet on torpedo by preventing flight of theaircraft until the required speed has been attained. 1

4. A launching mechanism*for torpedo carrying aircraft comprising'a car,and "an electro-magnet on said car for holding a torpedo of the craft,having a seat to receive the torpedo, thus preventing flight of theaircraftnntil the required speed is attained.

5. A launching mechanism comprising a track, a carriage thereon, meansfor connecting an aircraft to said earria-gepmeans for propelling saidcarriage, and means for automatically throwing said propelling meansinto action when the aircraft propeller has started the ship and thecarriage forward.

6. A launchin mechanism for aircraft comprising a trac a carriagemovable from one end of said track to the other, electric means forpropelling said carriage, and means for supplying current to saidpropelling means includingl a rail starting at a point spaced toward t eend of the track from the starting point of the carriage, and a shoe onsaid carriage adapted to engage said rail when the propeller of theaircraft starts the carria e forward.

7. An aircra t launching mechanism comprising a carriage, electric meansfor propelling said carriage, and electro-magnetic means on saidcarriage for holding the aircraft thereon by magnetic attraction, the

said, electro-magnet for aircraftsaid car for holding the}, magneticattraction and thus circuits of both of said means being sevof the frontand rear Walls of said housing and the upper end of said magnet, havinalined'depressions forming seats for sai torpedo. 9. A structure asspecified in claim 8 the upper side of said carriegehaying a pit in 10hsaid magnet and said housing are located, the front and rear walls ofsaid pit havin depressions in their upper edges to clear t1 e torpedo.

1D. A launching-mechanism for torpedo carrying aircraft ocomprising acarriage" having a pit in its upper side, and an electro-magnet in saidpit for holding a torpedo of thecraft the upper edges of the front andrear we. of the pit and the upper end of said magnet having alineddepressions, the

for said torpedo. 11. A launching mechanism for torpedo carrying aircraft comprising a car, and an electro-magnet carried by the upper partofsaid car for holding a torpedo o the craft,

the ugper end of said magnet having a channel s aped depressionextending inthe di rection of movement of the car and forming a seat tereceive said berpedo.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set depression ofsaid magnetforming a seat m hand in the presence of two subscribing I

